What is scarier than being chased through an abandoned circus late at night by a crazed, naked clown? How about looking up from the operating table to see your state senator with a scalpel in hand ready to assist in your appendectomy? Either way, you’re screwed.

In today’s confusing and evolving health care system, it behooves you to take responsibility for your own health. You’re going to have to develop your own plan and “self-insure” by staying healthy no matter what kind of health care plan our ingenious friends on The Hill come up with next.

My advice to you is simple: As members of the “Hill Gang” continue to sit on their collective asses debating the issues around health care reform, it’s time for you to get off yours and put your plan in motion. What better time to do it than now? And what better place than here, in “America’s Finest City,” to start getting your rear in gear?

Your first steps are to get up, get serious and get fit! Off the sofa, onto your feet and into this beautiful city we call home. As long as you find something to do you really enjoy, (even if it’s running away from naked clowns), it won’t feel like a chore to you. You have to get your body moving, and the best way to do that is to do something fun. Even a great romp in the hay counts as exercise.

The possibilities are endless. You can walk the park. Walk the dog. Walk the block. Ride your bike. Catch a wave. Run a marathon. Lift weights. Take yoga. Climb a mountain. Play tennis. Fly a kite. Go diving. Play golf. Go bowling. Rollerblade with friends. Play badminton or skydive. You can even play the Wii. You get my point?

There is nothing like the feeling of being strong, physically fit and in shape. But once you get there that doesn’t guarantee you’ll stay healthy. Taking care of yourself should always be your first priority. I’ve been in the fitness industry instructing classes and personal training for more than 20 years. I’m as strong as they come, but I’m not immune to disease. Should I develop a life-threatening health issue, like cancer (which all of my grandparents passed from), I would much rather have the opportunity to fight it from a point of strength than weakness.

We all know there are no guarantees. But if you start taking care of your body now and put a plan in place you will improve your current fitness level and feel better all around. Don’t kid yourself; your body is in a constant state of being. You are either progressing or you are regressing. If you want to progress you can, with a plan. If you choose to regress, your body will do that by itself. “Use it or lose it” is not a fairy tale.

Make your plan and enlist some support. If moving your body by yourself isn’t your forté, then get some help. Call a friend, join a gym, hire a personal trainer, sign up for lessons in a new sport or join a recreational league, just get out there and move your body.

Of course it’s going to be challenging at the beginning, so was learning to walk. But you did it, after you crawled and before you ran. And by the way, running late is not exercise! So get moving now!